MTN Group is considering a bigger move into banking as Africa’s largest telecom operator looks beyond traditional mobile services for its next phase of growth.

The company is exploring banking licences in selected African markets, a move that could eventually allow MTN to accept deposits and lend money directly from its own balance sheet instead of relying mainly on partnerships with banks.

Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita said lending is emerging as one of the strongest opportunities within MTN’s rapidly expanding fintech business.

MTN has spent years building its mobile money ecosystem across Africa, offering services ranging from payments and transfers to e-commerce and credit. But Mupita believes lending could become an even more important part of the business going forward.

“The big growth now, which will be the growth of the future, is actually lending,” Mupita told journalists.

MTN could begin lending its own money

At the moment, MTN generally offers loans to customers through partnerships with banks and other financial institutions.

That model could gradually change.

Mupita said MTN is studying whether obtaining some form of banking licence could make sense in markets where the company already has a large customer base and significant amounts of money sitting in mobile wallets.

A banking licence could give MTN the ability to take deposits and, over time, use its own balance sheet to provide loans directly to customers.

However, the telecom giant is not planning to abandon its existing banking partnerships.

Even where MTN eventually begins lending from its own balance sheet, Mupita said partnership-based lending could remain part of the company’s strategy.

The shift will also not happen across every MTN market at once. Management intends to be selective about where the banking model makes commercial and regulatory sense.

Mupita acknowledged that lending comes with additional financial risks, meaning any move toward direct lending would be introduced gradually.

Fintech becoming increasingly important to MTN

The possible push into banking reflects how MTN is increasingly positioning itself as more than a telecommunications company.

Mobile money, digital payments, e-commerce and other financial services have become important growth areas as telecom operators search for new revenue streams beyond voice and data.

MTN already has one of Africa’s largest customer networks, giving the company an existing base through which it can distribute digital financial products.

Its fintech businesses are also becoming increasingly important across major markets, including Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

For investors, the strategy could gradually change how MTN is valued. Instead of being viewed primarily as a telecom infrastructure and connectivity business, a larger contribution from fintech, lending and digital infrastructure could give the company exposure to several additional areas of Africa’s digital economy.

MTN also makes a bigger bet on AI data centres

Banking is not the only new growth area MTN is targeting.

The group is also moving deeper into digital infrastructure, with plans to develop AI-ready data centres in South Africa and Nigeria.

The projects will be developed through Africa Data Hub Holding, a venture involving MTN and an undisclosed UAE-backed investor.

MTN is expected to hold a minority stake in the venture, while its partner will provide most of the capital and technical expertise required to build the facilities.

The partner already has experience developing data centres in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf markets.

The first phase of the project is expected to deliver approximately 150 megawatts of data centre capacity across South Africa and Nigeria, with further expansion depending on customer demand.

The investments underline MTN’s broader attempt to build businesses around some of Africa’s fastest-growing digital opportunities.

Telecommunications will remain at the centre of the group, but fintech, lending, digital payments and AI infrastructure are increasingly becoming important parts of its long-term growth strategy.